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City of Oakland Announces New COVID-19 SMALL Business Resources The City wants to share a variety of resources to sup- port small businesses and work- ers during the pandemic, and has launched a www.oakland- businesscenter.com to serve as a portal for all of the local, State and Federal resou...

By Annette Floystrup

by Annette Floystrup Local Shops Shop Locally Recently, Jeff Dodge of La Farine bakery posted an impressive list of the local vendors he buys from to run his business. The vast majority of his suppliers were local businesses, in contrast to national chains like Safeway, which source globally. Buying baked goods from La Farine, for example, puts money immediately back into our local economy and our commu...

Starting a Home-Based Business networking fees for Chamber of Commerce events or for other groups pertinent to your industry or interest. At http://www.irs.gov, you can find a long list of business expenses in Publication 535, “Business Expenses.” (Search: Publication 5...

Business Development Corporation where we provided loan guarantees to women- owned and minority-owned businesses. As an East Bay native, I’ve spent my life working to lift up small businesses, provide housing opportunities, and advocate for equitab...

By Peter Smith

Businesses in Oakland are genuinely troubled by a stultifying bureaucracy, an anti- business tax structure, crime, poor schools, and a shortage of safe and affordable housing for their employees. When these problems are not addressed, businesses th...

Several small businesses are located in the Dreyer’s building on College Avenue (among them the well-known bakery Katrina Rozelle), contributing to those business tax revenues, and all of those businesses owe a debt to RCPC, as do the businesses facing them. Dre...

Eventually, some of the business people apply for major vari- ances, attempting to legitimize business use. In some cases, vari- ances have been sought before home purchase, but have been denied. Perhaps some business people are hoping that conversion of a residence to a ...

Businesswoman “Let's open a wine bar in Rockridge,” Heather Sittig-Jackson, right, said to her friend Kristen Policy. Toast, at College and Chabot, is the result. from page 6 United States,” she says. “We want it to be international in five years.”...

nomenal part of the Oakland community. For a number of reasons, the business has decided to make some mod­ ifications and as a result the shop has closed. We thank the customers who stopped by for ice cream throughout the Local neighbors found the ice cream parlor was closed for business. Photo by Don Kinkead The b...

Lastly, online retail businesses continue to shake up the retail environment, on College Avenue as well as throughout our economy. If local retail js to survive, we need to appreciate and patronize local businesses, and to Keep in mind that local businesses offer things...

If your store or business is not listed in the accompanying list, e-mail merchant@ rockridge.org. Also, many therapists with offices on College are not included, as one can’t just walk in and ask questions. Therapists and counselors: feel free to e-mail your year o...

College Avenue businesses when the then- new Highway 24 split the shopping area in two, some in the city felt that Rockridge and Temescal were ripe for high-density housing and franchise business development. Many residents were concerned that College Avenue’s lo...

Coaching: Business and Personal Had therapy? Still stuck? I have 28 years experi- ence helping individuals and businesses attain their goals. Convenient, professional, confiden- tial COACHING. Call for free consultation. Business And Personal Development, ba...

By Kristil Robarts

...d built by contrac- tor Jef Schwarck. Two others retailers opened in Febru- ary: Chic, a clothing store specializing in Italian designer wear, and Ladies Workout Express, a women’s workout and fitness studio. All four owners are going into business for the first time and say they are pleased and excited to join the grow- ing family of distinguished retailers on College Avenue. The spacious interiors are already home to two new businesses that opened during the holidays: Red Feather M...

By Susan Montauk

ih 1997, when College Avenue business owners Jan Christensen-Heller (Chris- tensen Heller Gallery) and Joyce Seuss (Rockridge Rags) co-chaired the Rockridge Area Merchants and Professional Associa- tion (RAMPA), their discussions about creating a Business Improvement District ...

By Ella Smith

Businesses continue to fall victim to gang violence and theft, while the pop- ulation of unhoused individuals has risen by 9 percent in the past two years. Although Rockridge is considered a safer neighborhood, we cannot ignore the broader reality....

Business Address Started/ Years

By Judith Doner Berne

➧➧Businesswoman, page 7 a cross-cultural congregation striving to partner with the Rockridge community in lifestyle and service.

Business and Work (anybody have photos of the quarry when it was being actively mined?) Transportation (Shafter corridor construction, BART, Caldecott Tunnel, streetcars and model Ts) Daily Life (families gathered around the radio, moms hanging the...

Business assessments will generate funds for beautification of College Avenue

& Business Owner | for 25yrs Specializing in Renovation &

BUSINESS SERVICES’ Financial Reporting And Tax Consulting

+ BUSINESS CARDS & DESIGN

* BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY

> BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY

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This multigenerational business understands how to provide quality service with an eye for detail. It offers a rare, old-school repair shop that Photo by Anna L. Marks It’s a family affair — Viva, Aza, Merci, Gerardo and Leslie all chip in at their new shop at 5239 Colle...

* BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY

+ BUSINESS, OFFICE & COMPUTER SUPPLIES

+ BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY

By Jody Colley

Ensuring that small businesses thrive is essential to maintaining the soul of the community they serve. Your neighborhood business Shop Local, see next page “Helping you find your way home.” Serving Rockridge & beyond 510-350-6419 | claudiamillsrealestateteam.com | cl...

By Skip Fogarty

Growing a Business Writing Love Letters by Skip Fogarty The advent of genealogy services like 23-and-Me and Ancestry have enticed many to explore their familial roots, but the discovery of ancestors’ names and origins often leads to other questions. “Looking...

» BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY

+ BUSINESS, OFFICE & COMPUTER SUPPLIES

+ BUSINESS, OFFICE & COMPUTER SUPPLIES

+ BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY

Business Use from page 2

* BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY

By Susan Montauk

Shop, Visit Local Businesses While Delivering the Rockridge News by Susan Montauk read the description below and let us know if you’re available for her route. CAv1: Businesses and apartments along College Avenue from Claremont Ave to BART. Stacks left at various st...

Businesses Good planning can help

Business Looks at College Avenue and Rockridge

Businesses Accept RCPC Proposals

• Special needs trusts Please contact me during regular business hours to schedule an appointment. Get Coaching. Get Results. Want to exponentially grow your business? Ready to fast-track your corporate job? Considering starting a new career venture? Schedule a complimentary session now. Call 800-322-56...

A digital artist, I’ve based my business here for 26 years and lived in Rockridge for most of them. Rockridge is zoned as a neighborhood center community zone to cultivate a vibrant pedestrian-oriented mixed-use commercial district. This is why my business is here. Rockridge’s de...

Ray Perman, Rockridge businessman, early RCPC stalwart, and, later, activist volunteer for the cities of Oakland and Piedmont, died at a time and in the manner he chose on February 4, 2017. Diagnosed with a serious illness six years ago, his doctors predicted he had two...

College Avenue businesses can seem constant and unchanging. Perhaps a vacancy here and there showcases a pop-up opening to keep the space occupied, but in the main: constancy. Recently, distant stars have realigned, bringing a spate of expansions and new business...

By Erica Siskin

Susan Montauk �������������������Business Manager Don Kinkead �����������������������Graphics & Layout RCPC Board of Directors, 2015-2016 Brendan Havenar-Daughton Chair Jennifer Daskal �������������������Co-Vice-Chair Zabrae Valentine �����������������Co-Vice-Chair Noah Rosen ����...

By Erica Siskin

...roups to set up and maintain local newsletters. “From the original issue, printed on both sides of a single sheet and distributed to neighbors by volunteers, The Rockridge News has grown in size, quality, and volume of advertising by local businesses to today’s 16-page monthly, delivered to some 6,000 residences and businesses.” Contacting The Rockridge News Are there community issues you’d like to see covered in The Rockridge News? • Do you have questions about newsletter distributi...

By Judith Doner Berne

by Judith Doner Berne ‘T ech rules real estate” blared the front page headline in the April 11 issue of the Oakland Tribune. And Heather Sittig-Jackson, a Rockridge businesswoman and 13-year resident (who moved in March to the Oakland Hills), hopes to capitalize on it – going even beyond the new 3-D walk-through video tours that prospective buyers now use to get up close and personal with prospective homes. Sh...

By Annette Floystrup

later, it is an international phenomenon. Her Web site – www.350project.net – is filled with resources for small business people and their supporters. Materials are free to registered users. Baxter’s message is simple: Pick three local independent businesses, spend $50 a month in them, save your local economy. She calls it the 3/50 Project, and it is brillian...

Second floor businesses, such as therapists, pay a flat fee of $60 per year. In addition to local merchants, almost 200 residential rental units are included in the proposed CBD boundaries. CBDs make no exemptions for residential properties or “In addition to l...

hood, hitching their hopes and dreams to the success of the neighborhood as well as their own business. I profile the new ones in this column every month, and it seemed time to highlight the longtime businesses in the neighborhood as well. On a sunny weekend in August, I spent almost eight hours walking the length of College Avenue, Claremo...

Learn about Business Improvement Districts here: http://newcityamerica.com/pbid.asp Learn more about Community Benefit Districts at: http://newcityamerica.com/whatiscbd.asp Regency Antique Restoration Professional and Experienced ALL Furniture Repairs In-Home ...

ing slip and fall scenarios. You might also consider an Errors and Omissions (E&O) policy if your business plan opens you up to that arena. Set up your plan to get the most out of the good idea that you have. For a nomi- nal fee you can consult for an hour with a seasoned business consultant, a CPA, an attorney and an insurance agent. It will c...

By Lydia Gans

If we want to promote neighborhood-serving businesses (rather than becoming “Res- taurant Row just a quick turn off “Auto Row”), we need to increase the number and types of housing opportunities on and near College Avenue, as our C-31 zoning designation allows. Furthermore, it is the divers...

By Kristil Robarts

A business once called “sweat shop” is reborn as up-scale retail building by Kristil Robarts and Kimberly Leo Many Rockridge residents remember the old commercial building on College Avenue between Manila and Kales that had darkened windows and the c...

In consideration of city business taxes: given that Dreyer’s sales last year were Over $560 million, things should really add up. So, what did Dreyer’s pay last year? — about $15,000! Actually, this should be no surprise. Dreyer’s is a multi- national corporation (incorpor...

Among College Avenue businesses, Dreyer’s, a national corporate adminis- trative headquarters, is out of place. As a large, rich corporation, Dreyer’s, un- like the neighborhood, can buy most of what it wants. Let us hope that does not include the common sense of our p...

Zeidan Business Services Desperately Otterbein Volunteer 428-9166 Seeking Satellite Senior Homes, a non- Computer services for small businesses: Sitter... profit corporation managing

Partial List Of Prizes For May 19 Drawings Business Item Value Zia Painted Wooden Mirror w/Goats $200 Chimes Market (2) 1 Free Video/week for 1 Year $200 Armen Gallery Baluche Salt Bag $150 Fit Lab Enrollment + 1 Month’s Dues $125 Color My World Handwoven Tailored Vest $75 Snips Haircuts Fo...

Rockridge is a small-business and retail neighborhood shopping area. It also contains manufacturing and large | businesses. It serves as a transportation hub for North

The atmosphere regarding businesses in residences was much different in 1984 when I purchased my property than it is today. It was before the Dreyer’s issue and before the RCPC started dis- tributing the monthly newsletter. I would not purchase this property for business p...

As we understand it, some business people would like to operate in this neighborhood, but are unwilling to pay the cost of building, buying, or leasing property in commercial zones. Instead, they purchase homes, set up their businesses, and oper- ate without proper zoning a...

Restaurants are a part of the business diversity on College Avenue that some people see as a problem. Many residents in the area seem con- cerned about the number of restaurants and the possibility of “Regional Business” moving into the area. I don’t think anyone wants to see a...

Mrs. Giovanetti has been in business on College Avenue for 25 years. In addition to her Real Estate office, she has also owned two retail businesses on the Avenue. She raised her family in the area and still lives nearby.

College Avenue Businesses Trends We want businesses that add diversity to the neighborhood.

RCPC does not seem to me to be anti—business in general but some merchants do feel it is too neighborhood oriented and not considering the needs of the business community. I am pleased to see at the latest RCPC meetings that it is reaching out and asking to communicate more with merc...

Dreyer and Edy operated in business together for nearly 20 years, before the partnership dissolved in 1947. Replacing his name with Edy’s, Dreyer moved his operation — factory and all —to its present location on College Avenue. Edy continued in the wholesale candy business a...

A use permit normally is granted to one business operation at a time. Wilson Associates is applying for one permit for thirteen business operations— three restaurants and ten food purveyors. Tony Wilson said his development seeks blanket approval because, “We have been asked by prospecti...

By Casey Farmer

Dockridge’s independent businesses cultivate a close-knit community vibe, and College Avenue is the heart- beat of our dynamic retail district. Coming to the neighborhood are some exciting new spots and a couple of relocated gems.

By Jack Soares

Bike Repair Stand Back in Business by Jack Soares

By Skip Fogarty

...nd Tech. Both are college-age now. “My father’s wonderful letter planted a seed that grew into a new chapter in my life,” Aviva says. Creating similar personal histories for others was her inspiration, but she had zero experience running a business. She now calls herself a “solo-preneur,” crediting the coaching and networking opportunities pro- vided by an agency called Revenue Breakthrough. Over the past few years, she’s provided nearly 100 clients with an invaluable family touchsto...

By Skip Fogarty

says. “And the client comes away with a sense of what’s most important at this point in their life.” The inspiration for her business came after her father died. While going through his possessions, she discovered a letter in his desk that he’d left for her and her siblings. “He was a rabbi and had wisdom, wit, and a way with words. Whenever I want to be reminded of his ...

Surviving and Thriving: College Avenue Businesses Persevere Across the Decades by Anna L. Marks

Rockridge businesses face many challenges. Crime, in particular, has created financial obstacles for many who bootstrap their way to success. We are grateful to these entreprenuers who, despite the chal- lenges, continue to add joy and value to our community...

By Cliff Stoll

Chocolate Shop Officially Opens for Business A Look Back at Colby Street by Cliff Stoll W On September 9th, Love + Chocolate finally opened its doors at 6309 College Avenue and lots of Rockridge folks stopped by to greet the owners Kent and Kristy Lincoln (pictured above), and welcom...

New Businesses Find A Home In Rockridge

By Casey Farmer

“Foot traffic and business results along the avenue have been trending downward each of the last three years,” reports Rick Karp, the second-generation proprietor of Cole Hardware. “Covid triggered a mass migration to online shopping, RCPC May Town Hall, see next pa...

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honored to be your representative. n As for my personal priorities, I will continue to work on fundraising, emergency preparedness for wildfire and earthquake safety, and the economic vibrancy of College Avenue businesses. n CANDIDATE STATEMENTS continued on pages 4 & 5